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Several killed, injured in train crash

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Police identify the bus driver as David Woodward, who died in the crash

Passengers say they cried out for their bus to stop before crash

"Bodies and debris" were everywhere, one official says

A total of 34 were injured, ranging from those in surgery to "walking wounded"

Frantic cries from passengers didn't prevent an Ottawa double-decker bus from plowing into a moving train on Wednesday, a horrific morning crash that left six dead and at least 34 others injured.

Hours later, investigators offered few insights, including whether the bus driver applied brakes, if the crossing signal worked properly and, more generally, what caused the collision.

Yet some who had been on the bus, like Rebecca Guilbeault, painted a jarring picture of the moments before, during and immediately after the crash, which ended with people thrown through the air as the vehicle's front few rows sheered off.

"Everyone shouted, 'Stop! Stop! Stop!,' and then, as I looked up the bus (hit) the gate," an emotional Guilbeault told reporters as she held her young son, echoing other passengers on the bus. "(It) all impacted at once. ... Everyone flew, and there was dust everywhere."

Bus, train collide in Ottawa 17 photos

Bus, train collide in Ottawa17 photos

Bus, train collide in Ottawa – An Ottawa, Ontario, double-decker bus plowed into a moving train on Wednesday, September 18, in a horrific morning crash that left six dead and at least 34 others injured. The bus is towed away from the site of the crash on Thursday, September 19. Click through for more images from the crash:

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Bus, train collide in Ottawa17 photos

Bus, train collide in Ottawa – Emergency crews respond to the scene where the city bus collided with a Via Rail passenger train at a crossing in Ottawa on September 18.

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Bus, train collide in Ottawa17 photos

Bus, train collide in Ottawa – A rescue worker inspects the scene of the crash on September 18.

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Bus, train collide in Ottawa17 photos

Bus, train collide in Ottawa – A woman holds her head while sitting on a bus transporting those who were involved in the crash on September 18.

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Bus, train collide in Ottawa – The train sits derailed as officials work at the scene on September 18.

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Bus, train collide in Ottawa17 photos

Bus, train collide in Ottawa – Train passengers are escorted away from the crash site on September 18.

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Bus, train collide in Ottawa17 photos

Bus, train collide in Ottawa – A man carries a child past the scene of the crash on September 18.

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Bus, train collide in Ottawa17 photos

Bus, train collide in Ottawa – Police officers look under a tarp at the scene on September 18.

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Bus, train collide in Ottawa17 photos

Bus, train collide in Ottawa – People stand next to the destroyed bus on September 18.

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Bus, train collide in Ottawa17 photos

Bus, train collide in Ottawa – Members of the media watch as emergency crews respond to the crash on September 18.

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Bus, train collide in Ottawa17 photos

Bus, train collide in Ottawa – People comfort one another after the crash on September 18.

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Bus, train collide in Ottawa17 photos

Bus, train collide in Ottawa – The Via Rail passenger train sits on the tracks on September 18.

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Bus, train collide in Ottawa17 photos

Bus, train collide in Ottawa – Transportation Safety Board of Canada officials work at the scene on September 18.

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Bus, train collide in Ottawa17 photos

Bus, train collide in Ottawa – An injured passenger is taken to an ambulance on September 18.

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Bus, train collide in Ottawa17 photos

Bus, train collide in Ottawa – Emergency crews respond to the scene of the crash on September 18.

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Bus, train collide in Ottawa17 photos

Bus, train collide in Ottawa – Officials respond to the scene in Ottawa on September 18.

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Bus, train collide in Ottawa17 photos

Bus, train collide in Ottawa – Damage to the front of the VIA Rail passenger train is seen on September 18, in this photo released by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

But it was a different, gruesome story aboard the ill-fated bus, which OC Transpo chief John Manconi said can carry 90 passengers. He did not know how many were on it at the time of the crash.

Five people were pronounced dead at the scene, with another dying at a hospital, according to Ottawa paramedics Chief Anthony Di Monte.

As of Wednesday night, Ottawa police had released the identity of only one of those killed: David Woodard, a 45-year-old native of the Canadian capital, who was driving the OC Transpo bus when it crashed.

Di Monte said authorities initially assessed 11 bus passengers in critical condition, but he added that the number fell later. He did not give a firm figure, though several underwent surgery. Community members held a candlelight vigil Wednesday night to remember the victims and those struggling to recover physically and emotionally from the ordeal.

"We've lost six of our neighbors, people who started off this bright, sunny day as we all did -- heading from their homes and loved ones to go about their daily lives," he said. "And then this terrible tragedy struck."

The collision occurred around 8:50 a.m. as the VIA train -- part of Canada's national railway system -- slowed while approaching its next stop in the Barrhaven neighborhood, about 10 miles from downtown Ottawa.

Heather Hogan, 26, of Kingston, Ontario, was waiting for that train on the platform when she heard "a thud, a loud metal-on-metal screech."

"Everyone said, 'What just happened?' recalled Hogan, who was about 500 feet from the crash site. "Everyone was just standing there in shock."

Mark Cogan told CTV he was driving nearby when he saw the bus "going and going and going" before it struck the train, knocking it off its rails and setting off "complete mayhem."

"There was people coming out of the windows and stuff," Cogan recalled of what was left of the bus, before he parked and ran over. "It was just a pretty devastating scene."

Within six minutes, the first of what would be 19 ambulances converged on a scene Hogan described as frantic.

First responders found "bodies and debris pretty much everywhere at the impact site," Ottawa Fire Service's Marc Messier told CTV.

They were eventually followed by members of Canada's Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation.

In addition to interviewing witnesses, investigators will look at event recorders on the train, GPS data from the bus and details that might indicate if the crossing gates and signals were working properly.

Officials said Wednesday there had been no known crashes at the crossing since it opened in 2005.

Jean Laporte, the safety board head, estimated the probe could take months to complete, though authorities will be notified promptly if it's determined any public safety changes are needed.

"Our job is to determine what happened and why," Laporte told reporters on Wednesday, "with the aim of ensuring that it does not happen again."